EXODUS 3: 1 - 15
I AM
Part 1…
THE STORY…MOSES AND THE BURNING BUSH
Moses taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep – Mt Horeb (known as the mountain
of God) – MYOB-ing
The “angel of the Lord” (could be actually God Himself or an angel) appeared in a
burning bush – the bush did not burn-up
So... Moses thought to himself… “hmmmm strange, I’m going to check it out!” …
notice his curiosity and internal ‘pull’ to not away from…what does this say about
Moses?
When God saw Moses went to look – He called Moses’ name…what does this say
about God?
“Here I am!” Moses responds
“Do not come any closer…you are standing on holy ground.” God said
God introduces Himself, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
Moses hid his face for fear of looking at God.
“…now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen…so now
go! I am sending you…” (vv. 7-10)
Moses responds, “Who am I that I should go…” – Moses, Moses, Moses! It’s
not about you!...
V12 God responded, “I will be with you…”
V13 Moses askes, “What if they ask, ‘What is His name?’ what do I say?”
V14 God responds, “I AM WHO I AM…tell them ‘I AM has sent you’.”
V15 “This is My name forever, the name you shall call me from generation
to generation.”
Moses argues with God through most of chapter 4 as well …
LET’S LOOK AT THE VERB “TO BE = IS, AM, AND
ARE”
Whoa whoa! English class! What did we learn about this strange and irregular
verb?
We know the verb is made up of: is, am, are, was, were, and continues into
the future “will be”…
Who is s/he? Who are you? What will baby Clearbrook be?
Identifies our existence…
GOD SAID, “I AM WHO I AM”
“I will be what I will be!”
The Septuagint (the Greek translation of Hebrew scriptures –
400 to 300 bc) interprets and comments: “I AM the existing
Being; I Am He Who is and will be; He who enjoys an essential,
independent, immutable and necessary existence.”
OTHER TRANSLATIONS DEFINE THIS STATEMENT AS:
He is self-existent
He is eternal and unchangeable (immutable)
He is incomprehensible (too big to be humanly understood)
He is faithful and true to all his promises
He is absolute and consistent
DEFINITIONS: ATTRIBUTES; CHARACTER; & PERSONALITY
Attribute: a core/internal quality
that defines his/her existence or
actions
Characteristics: distinguishing
trait that identifies the person
coming from attributes
Personality: reflection of one’s
character thru thinking, feelings,
and behavior
Attribute
Character
Personalit
y
ATTRIBUTES OF GOD: (SHARING ONLY 6)
God is holy
God is love
God is omniscient = all knowing
God is omnipresent = everywhere, all the time, multi-
dimensional
God is omnipotent = all powerful
God is immutable = never changing
BECAUSE GOD IS HOLY
Attribute = holy
Character = just, that which is impure, cannot exist with Him
Personality = provides payment for sin to offer a way back
fellowship with Him
BECAUSE “I AM WHO I AM”
Is self-existent
Is eternal and unchangeable (immutable)
Is incomprehensible (too big to be humanly understood)
Is faithful and true to all his promises
Is absolute and consistent
He is true to Who He Is…
His personality caught Moses’ attention
His character patient in working with Moses’ fears
His attribute of love clearly said, “I am your God and I will be
with you…”
IMMUTABLE – SAME NOW AND FOREVER
As He played hide-n-seek with Adam and Eve and ‘youuu
whhoo’ with Moses (burning bush)
He continues to seek us and calls us to Him…whether we’re
hiding from Him because of our failures or turning from Him in
fear…He is still calling us to Him…
I am Who I am never changes…will you come to Him as Moses
did (curious)?